Illuminated advertising apparatus.



PATENTED FEB. 14, .1905.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26, 1904.

2 nnms-snnn'r 1.

- UNITED STATES Patented February 14, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE. I

AUGUST H. TRIMPI, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO E. S. BURNHAM COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

ILLUIVIIINIATED ADVERTISING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,370, dated February 14, 1905.

Appiication filed January 26, 1904. Serial No. 190,671.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST H. TRIMPI, a citizen of the United States, whose residence and post-ofiice ad dress is No.11 Twenty-first street, East Orange, countyv of Essex, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Illuminated Advertising Apparatus, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The object of the present invention is to fur- I nish a special construction to' utilize the jars which are described in my Patent No. 714,975 in anadvertising or display apparatus. Such jars are constructed to produce peculiar ornamental effects, as they contain glass blocks which is to be advertised is displayed by a legend or transparency upon the jars or formed as a circular skirt attached to the propeller and revolved therewith above the jars. This apparatus has been sent to many parts of the United States in advertising a certain article, and it has been found very convenient to construct the apparatus so that the burner may be supplied with either oil or gas, and the apparatus is thus adapted for use where either one of such means can be supplied.

The base of the apparatus is formed with a seat to support a series of the glass jars, and such base is preferably formed of an oil-lamp font having a socket upon the top to receive a kerosene-oil burner, and the same structure is adapted to the use ofgas by extending a gas: pipe into the interior of the oil-font, which pipe is provided with adetachablegas-burner which can be inserted through the oil-burner I socket and screwed into the gas connection. Theouter end of the gas-pipe is capped when Oll is used in the font and is provided with a Fig. 4.

cock having a nozzle for a gas connection by which it is adapted to the use of gas.

The invention will be understood by reference to the annexed drawings, in which-'- Figure 1 is an elevation of the apparatus with certain parts in section on line 1 1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the perforated drum. Fig. 2 is a plan of the ap-' paratus with the propeller and its attached transparency removed. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the apparatus, and Fig. 4. is a central section of the lamp fontwith a separate ring around the same and the jars thereon with the gas-burner substituted for the oil-burner.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, a designates a circular.

base formed Wholly of an oil-font with a flat circular seat (0' upon the top of the same adjoining the margin upon which a series of glass jars b is shown. A rim w projects above the base to hold the jars thereon. Such jars form the display-body, and a screw-socket 0 is formed upon the font in the center of the chamber within the jars and shown provided with an ordinary detachable lamp-wick burner cl. With oil in the font such burner supplies a light to illuminate the jars. A gas-pipe e is shown extended into the oil-font and terminated below the center of the socket c, with an upwardly-projecting nozzle f, to which a gas-burner d is detachably fitted, so that it the kerosene-burner is removed, as shown in In Fig. 1a cap g is shown upon the outer end of the gas-pipe, and oil w is shown in the font filling the gas-pipe; but when gas is to be used the gas-burner would be substituted for the kerosene-burner and a gas-cock-z', with a hose connection j, applied to the outer end of the pipe as shown in Fig. 4:. A post in is shown extended upwardly from the lampfont at the side of the burner and bent at the top over the center of the burner tosu-p port a hot-air propeller Z,-having the usual slanting blades to produce rotation by the current of air rising from theburner. The

top of the post is shown provided with a removable vitrified cap m, having a concave seat in the-top, and the center of the pro- -peller is shown provided with a step-pivot n,

resting in the seat of the vitrified cap. The propeller Z is shown supported at a suitable distance above the tops of the jars I) to carry acylindrical skirt 0, perforated to form the legend Gelatine, which is illuminated when turned toward the spectator by the light from the burner below, thus forming an ordinary transparency. It is immaterial how the skirt 0 is attached to the propeller. In Fig. 3 it is shown secured by wire rings or loops 0', while in Fig. 1 it is shown attached by brackets 0 the upper ends of which merely rest upon the top of the propeller. so that it is removable and renewable at pleasure. The skirt 0 is revolved above the jars, so that it may be lighted independently of the jars.

A cylindrical drum 9 is shown suspended from the rotary propeller by chains q and perforated with holes 9 and slit 8, through which the direct light of the burner passes at intervals outwardly to the jars b. The holes are arranged spirally in series which operate to flash through the jars at different points of elevation. The slit 8 extends vertically of the drum and serves to illuminate a stripe from the top to the bottom of the jars. which occurs momentarily as the drum revolves behind each portion of the series of jars. The drum extends only to the tops of the jars, and the suspending-chains g permit the reflected light to pass outwardly above the drum to the skirt. The skirt is made materially larger than the drum, so as to extend to the outsides of the jars, where it is fully exposed to view.

The perforated legend upon the skirt is illuminated indirectly by the light of the burner, which is reflected out of the top of the drum, which does not extend above the bottom of the skirt, and thus permits the reflected light to reach the same.

It will be observed that the apparatus possesses an advertising-sign in the skirt 0, hearing the word Gelatine, which may be the name of a proprietary article, and that the series of jars upon which the light is flashed at intervals serves for attracting attention to the said sign.

Fig. 4 illustrates the connection of a gasburner with the gas-pipe e and an alternative construction for the base by which the lampfont is made separate from the circular seat (1/. In this construction a solid circular ring a is shown with feet 00 and a hole in the center in which a cylindrical font A is fitted detachably and provided with the gas connection having a gas-burner CZ screwed therein and extended upwardlythrough the threaded nozzle 0, which is adapted to receive a kerosene-burner when required.

In Figs. 1 and 4 a tube y is shown extended upwardly through the font and its lower end exposed to the atmosphere and its upper end terminated within the revolving drum 1).

ient means of supplying air to the burner and a current of heated air to the propeller. Only one of the air-tubes is shown in each of Figs. 1 and 4; but several of such air-tubes are required in practice. Holes y are shown in the flange projected below the font in Fig. 3 to admit air to the tubes. A filling-nozzle is required upon the font, and the stopper 2 upon such nozzle is indicated in Fig. 1.

This invention furnishes a very cheap and effective means of utilizing translucent glass jars containing colored or crystalized substances in an advertising or display device by combining the lamp-font with a surrounding seat adapted to support a series of jars and a perforated drum revolved by a propeller between the burner and the jars to illuminate the same in the manner described.

The combination of holes 4) with the slit .9 in the drum furnishes a diversity of illumination each time the drum revolves, and thus produces a striking effect upon the spectator. The means provided for using either gas or oil for the light permit the apparatus to be shipped to any place for use without inquiring into the illuminating means that are available and permits the devices to be distributed in grocery-stores, drug-stores, and other suitable places without making special provision with each apparatus to suit the requirement in each place.

By forming the display-body in this apparatus of a series of translucent jars resting loosely upon the base such jars maybe changed at pleasure to vary the efiect of the illumination. If the jars are of different colors, the mere changing of their arrangement upon the base serves to vary the effect; but as the jars are loose they may be readily removed and replaced by others, if desired.

It will be observed that the light which reaches the skirt 0 indirectly from the flame produces a uniform illumination of the letters or inscription in the skirt, which would not be the case if the skirt revolved directly around the flame, as-the flame would shine through the perforations in the skirt when such perforations were in a direct line between the spectator and the flame. The illumination of the inscription or lettering upon the skirt is more easily read and understood with uniform illumination than when illuminated by flashes like the jars which are lighted only at intervals by the perforations in the drum.

WVhat is claimed herein is 1. In a display apparatus, the combination, with a circular base having a burner in the center and a flat seat surrounding such burner,

of a circular series of removable translucent jars forming a display-body upon such seat, whereby the jars may be changed at pleasure to vary the effect of the illumination.

2. In a display apparatus, the combination, with a base, a circular series of jars thereon, and an oil-font in the base, of a burner upon thefont, a perforated drum and a hot-air propeller for rotating the drum around the burner, and the font having an air-passage communicating at the lower end with the atmosphere, and extending at its upper end within the said drum, to supply air to the burner and to the hot-air propeller.

3. In a display apparatus, the combination, with a base forming an oil-lamp font and having a burner in the center and a seat upon the top around such burner, of a series of translucent glass jars sustained upon the seat to form a display-body, and aperforated drum supported rotatably between the burner and the jars and provided with a hot-air propeller having a perforated skirt 0 suspended therefrom above the jars, whereby direct rays of the light reach the jars through the perforations of the drum, and only the reflected light reaches the perforations in the skirt 0.

4. In a display apparatus, the combination, with a base forming an oil-lamp font and having a burner in the center and a seat upon the top around such burner, of a series of translucent glass jars sustained upon the seat to form a display-body, the post 8 extended upward from the base, the hot-air propeller pivmy hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUST H. TRIMPI. Witnesses:

IDALINE AIMS, THOMAS S. CRANE. 

